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The 2013 State of XXC Magazine Address

Over the past couple weeks, posting on xxcmag.com has not been as manic as it could be, should be, and has been. I apologize for this. It is all my fault of course but not without good reasons. OK, PRETTY good reasons.

Basically I have been busy not working hard on XXC Magazine or xxcmag.com because I have been working hard and learning a bunch of behind the scenes stuff that I didn’t know how to do a few weeks ago, along with trying to get some miles in my legs and shed the “I’m gonna start a magazine, it’ll be fun,” induced, beer fueled, weight gain that has made this subpar racer even MORE subpar and racing pretty freaking miserable. Good times…

Actually it has been a good time, ’cause there is a bunch of stuff I hope to have going full force in the coming month or so, some of you may like what I have planned, some you may not, some of you could care less.

Here is the lowdown… (the bad first).

The print magazine and hopes of a printed mag in shops is dead.

Why? There are not enough print readers or interested advertisers to justify the investment, and even if I did invest more money I don’t have, I probably couldn’t charge less than $12 to $15 for the mag and pray that I broke even. Sure, XXC could keep up with the MagCloud issues but basing an entire project’s design on a handful of readers doesn’t make (I feel dirty saying this) “good business sense.” Sorry.

I LOVE print and LOVED seeing XXC in print but until the mag has 50+ pages of full page advertising like you get from the newsstand mags (not that I count them or anything) or people have and extra $15 to spend on a magazine, it ain’t happening’. (Unless I get left a ton of cash from a dead, rich aunt that I didn’t know I had).

BUT! And this is a big but (not my big butt, but a big BUT), the mag
is NOT going away and is taking on new and better forms.

ONE: I am trying to develop (hopefully with some additional help soon) a responsive web based version of the magazine that will read on desktop, tablet and phone. Since there would be no individual sales to fund content, I am kicking around the idea of a cheap membership (you know like the online “film” sites that keep the Internet going).

Since publishing of XXC is “fluid” to say the least I am thinking a small fee that would give readers access to all future on-line mags, access to content not available on xxcmag.com or elsewhere and for certain membership levels a t-shirt of your choice and a sticker to put on the back of the family truckster… I don’t know, it’s a work in progress.

Why not just have it free? Well, I would love to, but new software, developer fees, writing and photos cost money. XXC has very few cash paying advertisers to pay for content so I need to ask for something to help pay for it.

TWO: I am also working on, with some pretty good success, an iPad version of the mag that will be available via iTunes and the App Store. Androit users and or Apple haters see #1. Lots of behind the scenes hoops to jump through though. I am really stoked about the possible magazine site and the App. My goal is to NOT to have these merely be digital versions of a print magazine, (something I notice that most cycling mags, and mags in general, are on Apple Newsstand). The chance to incorporate MORE pages, photos, audio interviews and video beyond what is on xxcmag.com is pretty exciting, but daunting to be taking on alone.

THREE: The PDF download will remain. This is how XXC started and for as long as I can see it will remain. Due to download speeds, etc., it will not include the slide shows, videos, audio, etc., but will remain.

XXC Magazine #18 (or should I all it XXC Magazine #1 v.2?) should be ready in June. Stay tuned.

In other news…

XXC is also happy to say that we once again have a copy editor in the house. OK, not actually in the house (more like a big ass lake and a state away) but our friend Derek is going to be making sure XXC’s paid content is up to snuff and doesn’t resemble the grammar atrocities that you see me write (including this diatribe). Welcome Derek, thanks for wanting to be part of XXC Magazine!